Founded | 1972[1] |
---|---|
Founder | Chris Steer, Alan and Barbara Blatchford |
Type | Not for profit, volunteer-led organisation |
Focus | Long distance walking |
Area served | England, Wales and Scotland |
Members | 10,000+ [2] |
Chairperson | Julie Cribb |
Website | www |
The Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA) is a British not for profit, volunteer-led association whose aim is "to further the common interests of those who enjoy Long Distance Walking" [3] in rural, urban, mountainous, coastal and moorland areas. [4] The LDWA is recognised as the sports governing body for the discipline of "long distance walking" in England, [5] Wales [6] and Scotland. [7]
The LDWA has over 40 local groups, [8] which organise challenge events and social walks. It publishes a journal, Strider, three times a year, [9] and maintains a data base of long-distance paths, and registers of achievements in hillwalking and trail walking.
Walks fall into two categories:
The annual "Hundred" [11] is the LDWA's flagship event and has been recognised as the longest-running 100-mile ultramarathon in the world [12] , although it is not a race. It is held every year in a different part of the country, on the late May bank holiday, when up to 500 people gather to walk or run 100 miles in a maximum 48 hours. All participants will have completed a qualifying event of at least 50 miles. The first 100-mile event held was the Downsman 100 in 1973. There have been two years without a hundred-mile event: 2001, when foot and mouth closed the countryside, and 2020, when COVID-19 prevented the event taking place. COVID-19 also affected the 2021 event which was run as the Sir Fynwy virtual 100, with participants walking their own routes and providing evidence of completion. [2] [13] The 50th Hundred, the Elephant, Bear and Bull 100, took place in May 2023 and also marked the event's half-century. Three people completed the event at the age of 81, although all were slightly younger than Henry Bridge, who became the oldest-ever finisher in 1992, also aged 81. A documentary video series produced by the LDWA media team follows the personal stories of various participants navigating a largely off-road route taking in Birmingham, Stratford-upon-Avon and Coventry. [14]
The LDWA has the most comprehensive online database of long-distance paths in the UK. [15] Access is available to members and non-members alike, with members receiving additional benefits, for example unlimited downloadable GPX files of routes. [16]
The association also maintains a National Trails Register [17] , with membership categories for people who report completion of five, 10, 15 or all 19 of the National Trails (in England and Wales) and Great Trails (in Scotland). [18] It also maintains a Hillwalkers' Register [19] , recording the names of people who have reached all the summits of various categories of hills in England, Wales and the Southern Uplands of Scotland. These include the Wainwright Hills in the Lake District, and the County Tops of England and Wales. Records for the Scottish Highlands are maintained by the Scottish Mountaineering Club.
The Solway Firth is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in Cumbria, to the Mull of Galloway, on the western end of Dumfries and Galloway. The Isle of Man is also very near to the firth. The firth comprises part of the Irish Sea.
Offa's Dyke Path is a long-distance footpath loosely following the Wales–England border. Officially opened on 10 July 1971, by Lord Hunt, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws walkers from throughout the world. About 60 miles (97 km) of the 177-mile (285 km) route either follows, or keeps close company with, the remnants of Offa's Dyke, an earthwork traditionally thought to have been constructed in the late 8th century on the orders of King Offa of Mercia.
The Vanguard Way is a long-distance walk of 66.2 mi (106.5 km) from East Croydon station in outer London, travelling from the north, to Newhaven, on the south coast of England. It passes through the counties of Surrey, Kent and East Sussex, between Croydon and Newhaven, East Sussex. It connects the London suburbs to the south coast, via the North Downs, Ashdown Forest, South Downs National Park and the Cuckmere valley.
The Severn Way is a waymarked long-distance footpath in the United Kingdom, which follows the course of the River Severn through Mid Wales and western England.
Newsholme is a small village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England, but lies within the historic West Riding of Yorkshire. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 50, however the United Kingdom Census 2011 grouped the parish with Horton and Paythorne, giving a total of 253. Today it lies near the boundary with North Yorkshire on the A682, 4 miles (6 km) north of Barnoldswick and 12 miles (19 km) west of Skipton.
The Burnley Way is a 40-mile (64 km) long distance footpath in Lancashire, England. As a circular walk it can be walked from any point, but it is common to start and finish at the Weavers' Triangle Visitor Centre in Burnley. It covers a range of terrain from canal towpaths to open moorland.
Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much uncultivated and unenclosed land has opened up since the enactment of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. In Scotland the ancient tradition of universal access to land was formally codified under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. In Northern Ireland, however, there are few rights of way, or other access to land.
Paythorne is a small village and civil parish in Ribble Valley, Lancashire, England. It is situated alongside the River Ribble, north-east of Clitheroe, and on the boundary with North Yorkshire. Other parishes adjacent to Paythorne are Halton West, Nappa, Newsholme, Horton, Gisburn, Sawley, Bolton-by-Bowland and Gisburn Forest. The nearest town is Barnoldswick, situated 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south-east of the village. Paythorne is on the edge of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, although only a small area in the west of the parish is within the area's boundary. The Ribble Way long-distance walk passes through the village.
This is a partial list of recreational walks in the county of Derbyshire in England. The list includes walks that are wholly inside Derbyshire and also those that pass through to other counties. The walks are generally through countryside on a variety of trails and footpaths. Small walks of only local interest are not included. There are over 3,000 miles (4,800 km) of public rights of way in Derbyshire.
Ramblers is the trading name of the Ramblers Association Great Britain's walking charity. The Ramblers is also a membership organisation with around 100,000 members and a network of volunteers who maintain and protect the path network. The organisation was founded in 1935 and campaigns to keep the British countryside open to all.
A long-distance trail is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents except Antarctica.
The Lancashire Coastal Way is a long-distance footpath following the coast of the county of Lancashire in the north west of England. Its end points are Silverdale in the north and Freckleton in the south. Its length is variously asserted to be 66 miles (106 km) or 137 miles (220 km).
The Scottish Coastal Way is a proposed national long-distance trail that goes around the coastline of mainland Scotland. The idea was first proposed by walkers, and in November 2009 Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) hosted a conference on the subject. In 2010 SNH estimated that around 2,700 km of coastal paths and routes were existence, compared to a total coastline length of 10,192 km. The existing coastal paths were predominantly in the more populous parts of the country, and few coastal paths exist in more remote areas such as Highlands and Islands. It was recognised that a coastal route, along the lines of the Wales Coast Path, would have many positives, but that development of a fully waymarked route would conflict with conservation aims such as the preservation of the "wild land" qualities of much of the Scottish coast.
The Wales Coast Path is a designated long-distance trail which follows, or runs close to, the coastline of Wales.
The Lancashire Witches Walk is a 51-mile (82 km) long-distance footpath opened in 2012, between Barrowford and Lancaster, all in Lancashire, England. It starts at Pendle Heritage Centre in Barrowford before passing through the Forest of Pendle, the town of Clitheroe and the Forest of Bowland to finish at Lancaster Castle.
The North Wales Pilgrim's Way is a long-distance walking route in North Wales, running from near Holywell in the east to Bardsey Island in the west. The first half of the trail takes an inland route, with the second half following the north coast of the Llŷn Peninsula. It measures 133.9 miles (215 km) in length, and was officially launched at Porth y Swnt, Aberdaron on 10 July 2014.
The Frome Valley Trail is a long-distance footpath in Dorset, England which follows the River Frome from Evershot to Dorchester and will, when completed, extend to Poole Harbour.
The Welcome Way is a 36-mile (58 km) walking route in West Yorkshire, England. It connects Otley, Baildon, Burley in Wharfedale and Bingley, and takes its name from the Walkers are Welcome scheme of which all four towns are members. It was launched in 2015. It is waymarked in both directions, and good public transport connections enable walkers to use the route for a variety of short walks.